Considering State of Nevada Big-Game Migration Corridors on BLM administered lands in Nevada

This IM transmits policies and procedures identified in Secretarial Order 3362 (Attachment 1) in association with ongoing and proposed BLM actions, including use authorizations within migration corridors identified by the State of Nevada's Action Plan for Implementation of Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3362: "Improving Habitat in Winter Big-Game Range and Migration Corridors (Attachment 2)" or any subsequent Secretarial Orders or State connectivity plans that supersede these documents. The policies and procedures identified in this IM are specifically designed to advance objectives to maintain and restore biggame migration corridors and winter range habitat, as identified by the State of Nevada's Department of Wildlife (NDOW). These policies and procedures are expected to be considered and incorporated as appropriate by local BLM offices and are in addition to, but do not replace more protective measures in existing Land Use Plans (LUPs):

• Prioritize treatments and research opportunities within migration corridors when planning and evaluating funding for vegetation treatments.
• Evaluate land treatments within migration corridors in a landscape-scale context to address habitat fragmentation. INTERIOR REGlONS 8 & 10 • LOWER COLORADO BASIN & CALIFORNlA-GREAT BASIN ARIZONA. CALIFORNIA. N EVADA. OREGON* • PARTIAL
• Coordinate land treatments with adjacent landowners to avoid any unintended negative landscape effects to migration corridors and explore partnership opportunities for habitat enhancement on adjacent private lands or lands managed by other Federal, Tribal, State, and local agencies.
• Coordinate, plan, design, and implement vegetation treatments (e.g., pinyon/juniper removal, fuels treatments, green stripping) and associated effectiveness monitoring between Resources, Fuels Management, Emergency Stabilization, and Burned Area Rehabilitation programs to:
  • Promote the maintenance of large intact sagebrush communities.
  • Limit the expansion or dominance of invasive species, including cheatgrass.
  • Maintain or improve soil site stability, hydrologic function, and biological integrity.
  • Enhance the native plant community, including the native shrub reference state in the State and Transition Model, with appropriate shrub, grass, and forb composition identified in the applicable Ecological Site Description where available.
    • Use of non-native plant species may be used consistent with BLM Policy Handbook H-1740-2, District-specific RMP decisions or other direction, and Management Decisions MD VEG 7 and MD FIRE 42 from both the 2015 and 2019 Nevada and Northeastern California Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments.
• Document analysis of (1) short- and long-term objectives and (2) direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of treatment types, and other land-uses when conducting National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) for vegetation treatments, management actions, and other land-uses or authorizations in migration corridors.
• Avoid development in crucial winter range and migration corridors during sensitive seasons.
• Minimize development that would fragment crucial winter range and migration corridors.
• Limit disturbance of big game on winter range.
• Design treatments to increase cover of sagebrush and/or understory to improve habitats for big game species where pinyon and juniper trees are encroaching on sagebrush plant communities.
• Prioritize wildfire protection, suppression, and restoration in winter range and migration corridors.
• Work with NDOW to identify and remove or modify fences that do not meet current standards for wildlife.
• Implement management actions, where appropriate, to improve degraded big game habitats that have become encroached upon by shrubland or woodland species.
• Prioritize wild horse gathers to achieve Appropriate Management Level (AML) in areas that overlap with crucial winter range, stop-overs, and migration corridors for wildlife identified in the state action plan.
• Identify and improve natural water sources that may be negatively impacted by wild horses and overuse by livestock and construct pipe-rail fencing where possible and provide alternative water for livestock and wild horses outside of the enclosures.